강남룸알바 Part-time lawyers remain an outlier in law firms – ranks are mostly female, but number of male partners practicing part-time increases (January 6, previous years press release) – Most major law firms have made part-time scheduling available to their senior lawyers for years, but the number of attorneys working part-time in general continues to be very low. Noting that this time constraint has arisen, law firms have begun offering (and law firm rankings and reports have begun measuring) part-time and reduced-hour arrangements as a way for lawyers to keep a balance between their jobs and life in big law firms. Although almost every law firm allows lawyers to work part-time, either officially or case-by-case, few lawyers are taking advantage of these alternative scheduling arrangements. According to Holly Stein Sollod, Holland & Hart in Denver acknowledges that, even with strong commitments to practicing law, an attorney may find other concerns require asking for reduced-hours arrangements.
By showing that part-time work arrangements are frequently stigmatized and rarely used at major law firms, these findings reinforce the conclusion that part-time work is neither an adequate nor fully feasible tool for lawyers in maintaining a work-life balance at major firms. Many overworked, stressed-out lawyers who are drowning in the ocean of demands by clients, employers, families, and friends view part-time work as an attractive alternative to the day-to-day grind of the law firms traditional life of associates. Many career women, including partners, have trouble negotiating flexible work or a part-time schedule in order to juggle family and career. Ioanna Chaney, a personal and career coach at Forward Alliance in Chicago, says while flexible schedules are becoming increasingly common, many women are still struggling with the decision to take on less hours. For instance, I have known a lot of women lawyers and part-time lawyers who are mothers who made the transition to working part-time while their children were younger, and many fell into the trap of working a full-time number of hours over several days.
While I am not aware of any law firms formally restricting their part-time policies by gender or family status, all the part-time lawyers I have met or heard about from others are women who made the transition to a part-time schedule in order to balance their work obligations with family. One attorney I know works six hours a day, starting at midday, then takes over a child care shift in the afternoon, for instance. One lawyer I know works two full days out of office, then takes over homeschooling duties the rest of the days.
Some lawyers see their work dried up because clients put it all on hold. With increased caseloads to cover and billable hours benchmarks to meet, lawyers reported being inundated with work while colleagues left for or moved on to other firms. A common view in big firm culture is that lawyers are expected to keep a set number of billable hours and to work overtime. Firms realized that attorneys in reduced-hours schemes should be held to the same standards of productivity and billing and unbilling requirements as those working full-time, even if more slowly.
While this can take some time and research, it is critical to know whether other attorneys in a law firm have taken advantage of a flexible schedule and done so successfully. Setting up a solo practice can take time, and lawyers will probably need to draw on both personal and professional networks in order to promote the practice. A solo practice is operated by a single attorney, who may engage paralegals and outside experts to help on cases.
Within larger firms, there are many roles – attorney is one of the most common. Generally, larger law firms are aimed at corporations, not individuals, and are associated with multiple areas of legal practice, and can be known as full-service firms. Many lawyers join large law firms with a long-term career plan, which includes advancement through multiple levels of associates and partners, eventually becoming a senior partner.
Despite these downsides, working at a large law firm is still a valuable experience for lawyers, and it may offer numerous opportunities for professional growth. Law school graduates who land jobs with big firms can expect to have challenging, demanding jobs in fast-paced environments. Lawyers working for large firms can expect high salaries and access to a wide array of resources. Working for a boutique firm gives lawyers a chance to get hands-on experience and develop relationships with clients.
Solo law firms may offer flexible hours, work-life balance, and an opportunity to pick their clients, which may make them an appealing option to those with greater experience. This is largely because of a growing number of dual-career couples, increased responsibility to take care of aging family members, the desire to pursue personal interests, and a desire for more quality time with children and families. As a result of this shift in attitudes, law firms are realizing they will not be able to retain talent and maintain a competitive edge without the implementation of successful flexible working arrangements.
However, many law firms are not responsive, if not outright hostile, to the concept of part-time attorneys.1 To have any chance at successfully negotiating for reduced hours in a firm that has not already adopted an official alternative work schedule policy, the associate needs to be prepared to confront the concerns that lie behind such hostility toward part-time positions. The firm may decide to adjust the timeline within which an associate can expect to reach partner, but utilizing a flexible work arrangement should not, by itself, set back the lawyer from reaching partner. This is an issue of fairness which can be addressed only when the concerns of the leadership are addressed head-on, namely, that permitting one lawyer to work part-time would unfairly add to the caseload of remaining attorneys who are employed full-time, thus diminishing the already limited time that remaining attorneys who are employed full-time are allowed for their family and private activities. Part-time lawyer scheduling is still widely available, but remains seldom used by partners, associates (November 7, 2003 press release)- Although the majority of major law firms are making part-time scheduling available to their senior attorneys, as has been the case since NALP first collected this information in 1994, few attorneys took advantage of the Part-Time Lawyer Scheduling.